ABOUT PAULSMEYER FARMS - STEWARDS FOR THE FUTURE; PRODUCING A LEGACY

The rich alluvial soil of the Missouri River bottoms near Chamois in Agri-Ready Osage County holds the legacy of fourth generation river bottom farmer, Arthur Paulsmeyer, Sr., and his stewardship of the natural resources entrusted to him. His stories whisper among the timber stands and meander with the river’s curves that block the end of one field from the beginning of the next. Arthur’s farm has evolved but the legacy remains: each generation of Paulsmeyers prioritize leaving the land better for the generations to come and commit to bringing the next generation back to live and work on the family farm.

Award Winning Stewardship
“The 2026 Missouri Agriculture Stewardship Award recognizes the hard work and dedication of our family through the generations. Our farm can serve as an example for others to follow,” says Grayson, who plans to be an eighth-generation river bottom farmer.

Stewards of Modern Innovation
The Paulsmeyers have a research mindset that allows them to farm with exactness, optimizing and protecting the land in their care. Data informed decisions help to eliminate excessive application and over dependence on inputs; they minimize wasting time and resources on things that aren’t effective in the river bottoms.

Paulsmeyer Farms uses drones to reduce water consumption, soil compaction, and allow for precise applications of crop protection products. Track implements are used instead of wheeled tractors to protect soil. Autosteer and auto path innovations improve accuracy and minimize fuel consumption. Rotational grazing allows for forage recovery, biodiversity, and environmental health.

The Cost of Efficiency
“Our uncles wanted us to come back to the family farm, but there wasn’t room to support us,” shares Ben.

By reducing inputs with precision and decreasing dependence on mechanization, less Paulsmeyers were needed to operate the farm. If Arthur Sr.’s great-grandchildren were to get the opportunity to carry on the family’s generational legacy of farming, something had to change.

“Small Town. Big Farm. Bigger Plans.”
To support Ben’s farm salary in 2010 when he returned to the farm post-college, Paulsmeyer Farms acres were dedicated to a produce enterprise he began as a young boy. Ben partnered with his brothers Alex and Eli and started Boys From Chamois. The brothers grow cantaloupe, sweet corn, pumpkins, and watermelons-seeded and seedless. They added a high tunnel for tomato production and grow cucumbers, yellow squash, zucchini, potatoes, and onions. The Boys’ roadside farm stand is a nearly famous destination for fresh produce in Chamois.

The River Runs Through It
River bottom farming is dynamic. Landforms and land use (such as timber stands) affect growing conditions in fields end to end.

“Soil stewardship is more than just what crop we plant, what inputs we choose, or what machines we use,” Ben describes. “Stewardship is also understanding what our soil is made of and where our fields lay in relation to how the river moves. Our decisions about how and where we plant are based on our family’s generational knowledge of how the river runs, where it rushes versus where it rises through the timber, and where it swirls back. It’s not a matter of if it will flood, but when it will flood and how much.”

Looking to the Future
The Paulsmeyer ancestors planted their first crop in the Missouri River bottoms in 1837 and put down roots near Chamois in the 1880’s. Arthur Sr. would appreciate how his work ethic and values still guide the sixth, seventh, and eighth generations of Paulsmeyers through farming practices, land stewardship, leadership, land farm succession in the Missouri River bottoms.